Machine for filling bags.



A. M. BATES.

MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS.-

APPLIGATION FILED NOV. 25, 1903.

980,905. 1 Patnted Jan.10,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.7 J I #1312722 163x665 A. M. BATES.

MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS.

APPLICATION FILED 11017.25, 1903.

980,905. Patented .1311 10,1911.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Illlllzfln fizvenov UNTTLEI) STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADELMER M. BATES, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR'TO BATES VALVE COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND. OHIO, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS.

..u all 'UIHIIITL it may concern:

7 Specification of Letters Patent.

a citizen of the luited States. residing at E (.lerehunl. in the county of (.llnfahoga and Plate of Ohio. ha \1- invented a certain new and useful lni u-oremeut in Machines for Filling" Bag of which the following is a specification.

Fly intent ion relates to bagging machines,

mrticularly intended for lilting valve lugs.

lleretot' re. in titling valve bag it has been quite c mmon to till them in batteries, so to speak. number of hairs are put in '[Hblllflll on the machine. and they are then simultaneously tilled and simultamamslydischarged.- This involves. of course, intermittent action-in the tilting process. and is likely to involve irregularity and imperfection in the work. If the apparatus .tills some of the bags more rapidly than others, the process of discharging must take place before they are all filled, or else the titling! process must he continued after some of them are filled. with consequent danger and injury to the machine and bags.

A part of my purpose in this invention is to provide means for filling: the bags as individuals. each bag train-,1 tilled and discharged without reference to the others.

In filling such valve bags. it has heretofore been quite common to remove the bag from its hanger or support by the external application of a removing device to the has: itself. This is open to some objection. because as such bags are often made of very light material they are liable to be injurgd and the filling to be in part destroyed so as to permit the bags to leak.

In most of the prior devices for filling such bags, it has also been the practice to fill and pack the contents in the'bagr as separate steps, and part of my present improvement is means for filling the bag by packing the material inside it.

As above suggested. another partof my improvement consists in removing the bag from its support by the same action or device which packs or fills the bag, so that when it is actually filled it is automatically discharged.

These and other objects I have sought to attain in the improvement hereinafter set forth.

nuts, F

Patented Jan. -10, 1911.

Application filed November 25. 1903. Serial No. 182,643.

- The invention in one of its forms is shown lie it known that l. Ann-ammo ht. Bxrns. t in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure l is a front elevation: Fig. 2, an end view, Fig. 3. a cross section; Fig. t is a plan View of a portion of the device, and figs. 5 and detail cross sections.

Like parts are indicated by the same lotter in all the fi rures.

A is a shaft driven by any desired means and carrying at each end a disk. C, which is provided with a crank arm. C the other end of which is connected with one end of the cross bar, 1). This bar. I), provided, preferahlyateach end, with a grooved ring, D, which lies between two bars, E, .l'i, of a guide, said bars being mounted upon the frame, E. which is in turn mounted upon the end piece, *1". of the main frame of the device. These end pieces, E are connected by the angle bar, E", and the heavy cross piece and hopper support, E, The cross bar carries a series of plungers, F, adjustably connected with such cross bar by means of the screw-threaded portion, F, and the set The cross bar, D, may be tubular or made in any other way. The plungers, F, enter the front end of the hopper, G, and lie in V-shaped grooves in the upper part of the heavy cross piece, 1*)", which forms in etl'eet the bottom of the hopper, G. Each plunger passes first into a tube, F just outside the hopper. To prevent the material from workingback through this tube I employ a packing piece. F, around each plunger, the same being held in position by the clamping plate, F and the bolt, F, and screw, F. The V-shaped croove in the top of the cross piece, '1. is pret erably lined by the part, H, which may be composed of a tube split and opened. These V-shaped troughs I call the filling passages in the bottom of the hopper, and they terminate in the tilting tubes, J which may be somewhat funnel-shaped and which project' nearly horizontally from the lower part of the front, G, of the hopper. G is the strengthening piece across the front of the hopper. Obviously, if the hopper is full of smaller in cross section than the filling tubes, as shown in Fig. 5,so that they are not likely to be clogged and the material is not likelyto be m] ured. Of course, these parts, so far as described, can be greatly varied. They should be modified and changed in form, proportion and arrangementto accommodate the device to the various kinds of materials which are, from time to time, to be bagged.

it is a rack to support the bags while they are being filled, and it is adjustably supported at each end by mcansof the set nuts, K, K, on the vertical bar, L, which passes through guides, L, L, is free to move vertically, is preferably provided with an elastic foot, L and carries near its upper end a laterally projecting plate, L, adjustably held in position by the set nuts, L, L. This plate, L projects in the path of a cam, L, on' a shaft, A, which cam rotates in the lubricating tank, L", in the direction indicated by the arrow on Fig. 6. Some of the frame pieces not previously mentioned are the end pieces, L, vertical pieces, L and diagonal braces, L. Of course, the frame can be made in any desired manner.

The rotation of the shaft, A, will turn the cam, L, and cause it to raise intermittently the vertical rods, L, L, and then to let them drop, and thus the bag rack, K, will bemoved up and down and the bags will be agitated. The bags rest preferably in cross grooves. L. L, and the'rack, K, 1s set so that the full weight of the bags will not be thrown on the filling tubes, J. The result of this construction is such that the bags in the rack are jigged through any desired distance by the movement of the rotation of the same shaft which drives the plungers.

The rack is adjustable in positlon to adapt it for bags of different sizes and also to vary the distance, and the plate, L, is adjustable in position to enable the operator to vary the distance through which the bags drop each time the rack is moved. The bags, L, L", are of the valve bag type, and the parts are so adjusted that each bag is easily slipped-' upon the filling tube and then rests in a position somewhat as shown. Of course, in the case of certain materials and with certain sizes of bags, it will be possible to support them from the filling tube alone, the parts being properly proportioned. The general type or form of the machine can be greatly varied and it can be reduced to very small proportions and may even be made portable.

The filling tubes are preferably attached in groups to removable plates M, l, and

to assist in holding the bags in position I design to employ some kind of a retaining device, of elastic, or wire cord or spring, M. It runs across the top of the filling tubes and is secured at each end; To make its pressure adjustable, Lprovide a series of downwardly projecting fingers, N, each adj ustably secured in position by set nuts, N, and adapted to bear against the spring or cord.

\Vhen the apparatus, arranged substantially as indicated, has been set up for use, and the power-applied, the shaft will begin to rotate and the plungers to operate. At the same time the rack will begin to move up and down to give the jigging effect. The material, as, for example, salt, will begin to pass out of the feeding tubes under the action of the plungers, and may be receired by a conveyor, not here shown, whereby it. will be conveyed to some suitable storage box whence .it will again flow into'the hopper, so that there is no waste of material. The operator now begins by pushing individual bags upon their respective filling tubes. As each bag is pushed into position it obviously begins to fill, and if the jigging device is in operation, the bag will be shaken down by its action. This operation will continue while the operator is putting other bags on the other filling tubes. As soon as the first bag is filled, the application of the material to the inside of the bag throu h t he filling tube under the influence of the reciprocating plunger will pack the material in the bag and then push the bag ofi', thus freeing it from the machine and pushing it over so that it falls off the rack on to a table or conveyor, not here shown, where it may be carried to the place where it is to be filled into prepared packages for shipping, if that is to be done. The operator immediately notices that the stream of material is flowing from this filling tube and ptits another bag on,-and thus the operator is advised of the progress of the work. She has only to put new unfilled bags on the filling tubes from which the filled bags have been discharged. The machine can be speedcd to a certain predetermined and definite speed, so thatthe fair amount of out-- put for the machine will be measured by the ability of the operator to kee up with the machine, putting on one new ag every time a filled one is discharged. As previously suggested, the bags are filled and pushed off one at a time, bein automatically filled and discharged fromt emachine, the material being packed from within as well as by the jigging of the bag from without. It is the filling device or action which discharges the bag, and this discharge acts from within, and not on the exterior of the bag. An intern'rittent fillin stream is preferred, though a continuously flowing stream might be employed. The moment a bag is loadedit is discharged from the rack, so that while every ha is plumply filled, the machine ceases to worcon any bag the moment it is filled. There is no danger of clogging or injuring the material, and the said bags from the source of supply, saidmachine can fill any kind of material, hot or cold, lump or powder, wet or dry. Every bag will be completely filled, for it cannot be discharged until it is filled, and there is no loss of material because it is carried away and returned again'by the conveyers, not here shown, and which form no part of this invention. The operator, having nothing to do but put the bags on, is enabled to do a larger amount of Work than with other machines requiring the operation of levers and the like. By adjusting the rack, any size of bag can be filled.

\Vhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A valve bag filling machine comprising means for supporting the bags at their bottoms and the lower portion, of three sides in an approximately vertical position, a source of supply from Which'said bags are filled with material and means for disengaging means constituting a device toapply pressure to the upper end of the bag.

2. A valve bag filling machine comprising means for supporting the bags on their bottoms and about the lower portion of three sides in an approximately verticalposition, a source of supply from which said bags are filled, with material, a bag filling device opening into the bag at one side thereof and near the top in an approximately horizontal direction, and means constituting said filling 7 device for pushing the bag off of its support when it has been filled,

3. A valve bag filling machine comprising means for supporting the bags upon their bottoms in an approximatelyvertlcal position, a source of supply from which said bags are filled with material, means for forcing the material through the source of supply into the bags,'said source of supply entering the bags in a substantially tangential direction, and means, including said forcing means, for disengaging the bags from the source of supply.

4. A valve bag filling machine comprising means for supporting the bags upon their bottoms in an approximately vertical position, a source of supply from which said bags are filled With material, said source of supply entering the bags in a substantially tangential direction, and means for exerting pressure upon the material fed when the bag is filled todisengage the bag from the source of supply.

5. A valve bag-filling machine comprising means for supporting the bags, a source of supply from which said bags are filled'with material, means both for forcing material through said source of supply into the bags in a substantially tangential direction and for disengaging the bags from the source of sup ply, said means comprising the force feeding means.

ADELMER M. BATES.

Witnesses:

' EMMA MVEIPPERT,

C. A. BROUSE. 

